Colorado Rockies’ Todd Helton raises his fist after hitting a three-run home run on a pitch by Cincinnati Reds’ Logan Ondrusek during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, in Denver. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)

Hitting and Todd Helton have always been a good fit. It’s a hobby that creates comfortable misery.

He’s a one of a kind. He came up the hard way in Knoxville, taking swings in his garage until his timing was right, running straight from football practice at the University of Tennessee into the batter’s box. Helton is purposeful and maniacal. He’s hit in batting practice until his hands bled. He’s been so upset with his performance that he deprived himself of food. And once in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, he was so eager and desperate to change his luck he shaved his goatee in between at-bats.

“He’s on his own program,” said Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, shaking his head. “There’s no one like him.”

Helton was born to hunt and hit. When kids ask why Helton will be in the conversation for the Hall of Fame, a DVD of the Rockies’ 9-6 blistering of the Reds on Friday night will suffice.

All signs point toward Helton retiring, which means Friday could go down as his last breathtaking performance. He belted two home runs for the first time since April 26, 2011, at Chicago.

These weren’t fence crawlers, either. In the Rockies’ five-run fourth inning, the 40-year-old crushed Bronson Arroyo’s 82-mph changeup into the Rockies’ bullpen. In the seventh inning, he belted Logan Ondrusek’s 92-mph fastball into the right-field seats.

“The old guy can still do it,” said manager Walt Weiss.

“I got both home run balls back,” Helton said. “You never know which one will be my last.”

Helton tied his career high of six RBIs, last accomplished May 29, 2003, against the Dodgers. A standing ovation from the paid crowd of 29,415 greeted his last at-bat. The fans made it a moment, appreciating the history at stake. Sitting on 2,499 hits, Helton spoiled a nasty slider, worked the count full and fanned on a high fastball from Zach Duke.

Helton never received louder applause after striking out.

“It was special, the fans’ reaction (in the last at-bat). I got goose bumps,” the first baseman said. “I was going for another three-run homer.”

Helton has gear-grinded through this season, struggling to transfer his practice into games. He’s played regularly since the all-star break, Weiss purposefully running him out there more in his anticipated final season. His stats are more reflective of his age. He’s hitting .255 with 11 home runs — his 13th season of multiple homers — and 48 RBIs. That’s a far cry from his 1998-2004 prime when he averaged 35 homers per season and consistently reached base more than 40 percent of the time.

Yet Helton remains prolific at scooping low throws, providing freedom for infielders Nolan Arenado and Tulowitzki to be daring and take risks.

“I never thought I would play this long. It never entered my mind,” Helton said. “The way my body felt for the previous three to four years, I realize how lucky I am to still be able to go out there.”

2,499

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.

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